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Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning

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Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning
Developer(s)Mystman12
Publisher(s)Basically, Games!
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
macOS
Linux
Android
iOS
ReleaseMarch 31, 2018 (original game)
October 21, 2022 (remaster)
Genre(s)Horror, parody, puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning (also known as Baldi's Basics and Baldi's Basics Classic)[1] is a 2018 horror video game created by American indie developer Micah McGonigal, known by the pseudonym Mystman12. The game satirizes educational games of the 1990s through poor graphics and similar themes (such as Sonic's Schoolhouse, I.M. Meen and 3D Dinosaur Adventure), and later deconstructed its elements into a metafictional horror genre in recent updates, such in conclusion of a package version Baldi's Basics Classic Remastered.[2]

Baldi's Basics was first released in beta on March 31, 2018 via Itch.io for Microsoft Windows and macOS. A full release of the game, including additional content and a story mode, titled Baldi's Basics Plus, was published in early access on June 12, 2020, with development ongoing.

Plot

A friend of the protagonist forgets seven notebooks at the local schoolhouse but can't get them himself because he'd be late for "eating practice", so he asks the protagonist to fetch them. Once the player arrives, Baldi, one of the teachers, quizzes the player with simple math problems every time they find a notebook (three per book), offering a chance of getting "something special" if they answer all of them correctly. Once the questions are all answered correctly, Baldi offers the protagonist a quarter, granting them access to use a vending machine that distributes boosters when they first get passed yellow swinging doors. Baldi is also very easy to anger and, after presenting the player with impossible math problems, will start to chase them when they inevitably fail to answer them correctly. The protagonist is forced to continue to search for all the other notebooks while also avoiding other students and various obstacles.[3]

Alternate ending

If the player chooses to answer every question wrong in seven notebooks, they will experience an ending which includes an enlarged and rotated version of Baldi and another hidden character, Null, asking the player to destroy the game, before the game closes itself.[4]

Gameplay

In the Game, The player must locate all seven notebooks without being caught by their teacher, Baldi. Other students and faculty attempt to hinder the player by forcing them to participate in various activities. Each notebook contains three simple arithmetic problems, but the third question is unsolvable in the second notebook onwards. As the player continues to fail the impossible questions, Baldi moves faster and becomes harder to avoid.

Once the player collects all of the notebooks, Baldi will seem to congratulate them before shouting at the player to "get out while you still can"[5] (BBC)/telling the player to "find an exit before he catches you" (BBCR) There are three trick exits and only one that will let the player escape, and the player has to trigger all three before they can use the real exit.[3]

The player can collect different items from around the schoolhouse, such as a candy bar that keeps their stamina from dropping for a short period of time, a soda that can be used to blast characters away, a pair of scissors that can temporarily disable some of the obstacles and a teleporter that will place them in a random position in the school among others.

Development and release

The game was initially made as an entry in the annual Meta-Game Jam on Itch.io,[6] where it received 2nd place.[7] In an interview with Game Developer, the game's developer cited the 1996 game Sonic’s Schoolhouse as his main inspiration.[8] The game was originally going to be made for the 3DS using SmileBasic.[9]

The developer launched a Kickstarter campaign for the game,[1] where he announced that an early access prototype for the full game, titled Baldi's Basics Plus, would be released on June 12, 2020. The Kickstarter raised a total of $61,375.[10] Development has been ongoing ever since, with additional content such as new characters, new items, minigames, challenge modes, 'field trips' and a new layout for the schoolhouse, incorporating multiple levels and procedural generation, similar to a first-person roguelike and dungeon crawler hybrid game.

On Oct 21, 2022, a remaster and compilation of three games on PC platforms titled Baldi's Basics Classic Remastered was released, which includes the original game, Baldi's Basics Birthday Bash, and a demo version of Baldi's Basics Plus, with additional features such as fun settings and more alternate endings.[11]

Reception

Despite its poor graphics, it became highly popular for its humor, difficulty and surreal gameplay.[12] Popular YouTubers such as DanTDM, Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, PewDiePie, 8-BitRyan and Kindly Keyin made videos on the game,[13] helping to boost its popularity.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b Bald, Cameron (December 23, 2019). "Baldi's Basics Classic, a mobile version of the game, leqrnss onto Android and iOS". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  2. ^ "Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning (Game)". Giant Bomb. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  3. ^ a b Jackson, Gita (April 12, 2018). "A Free Game That Makes Math More Scary". Kotaku. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  4. ^ Mystman12. Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning (1.3 ed.). Scene: alternate ending.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Mystman12. Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning. Scene: Baldi's voice message after collecting 7 notebooks.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Wöbbeking, Jan (June 8, 2018). "Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning: Bizarrer Überlebenskampf in der Edutainment-Schule". 4Players (in German). Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  7. ^ "Top ranked games in the Meta Game Jam". itch.io. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  8. ^ Couture, Joel (August 13, 2018). "How Baldi's Basics taps into the real horror of '90s edutainment". Gamasutra. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  9. ^ Baldi's Basics Classic LOST BITS (ft. The Developer!) | Unused Content [TetraBitGaming], retrieved 2022-12-14
  10. ^ "Baldi's Basics Plus Enters Early Access June 12 - Niche Gamer". nichegamer.com. 2020-05-11. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  11. ^ ""Basically Games Announces Baldi's Basics Classic Remastered is Available now, October 21, With a New Trailer" - Games Press". www.gamespress.com. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  12. ^ Conville, Caitlyn (June 15, 2018). "'Baldi's Basics' Brings Nostalgia for Millennial Gamers". Study Breaks. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  13. ^ "PC download charts: Why are 'Baldi's Basics' and 'Totally Accurate Battle Simulator' so popular again?". INQUIRER.net. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  14. ^ Nguyen, Keoni (June 25, 2018). "A Fake Edutainment Game Is Now A YouTube Hit". Kotaku. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
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